We are excited to welcome Melanie Plucinski to the ReCAST Minneapolis team in the Division of Race and Equity! Melanie joins us as a program manager with a specific focus on shifting policy and practice to create more racially equitable outcomes, a root cause of individual and community-based trauma.
Melanie is originally from Northern Wisconsin and is an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. She holds a Master of Public Health degree in Policy and Administration from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health with an interdisciplinary concentration in Health Disparities Research. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Social Justice.
In her previous role as the Prevention and Policy Manager with the American Indian Cancer Foundation, Melanie managed staff and programs with a focus in policy development, community engagement, strategic planning, facilitation, creative problem solving and data analysis. She has also worked as the former Legislative Director of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and for the Department of Human Services as the American Indian Liaison.
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The ReCAST Team submitted the annual report of the second year of the program to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services (SAMHSA) recently. The report will be released in the next month for distribution in community. If you would like to receive a copy of this annual report, please email ReCASTMinneapolisInfo@minneapolismn.gov to request a copy.
Apply to be a part of the ReCAST Minneapolis Advisory Team
The ReCAST Minneapolis Advisory Team is comprised of a group of individuals representing organizations, City of Minneapolis staff, government agencies, and other stakeholders to define, implement, and evaluate ReCAST’s work. In the first year of the Advisory Team, members were instrumental in helping ReCAST complete the Community Needs and Resource Assessment, develop the strategic plan, and implement one of the first buckets of work called the Capacity Building Institute. In the second year, the Advisory Team has helped move other bodies of the work forward and has been a critical thought partner in how it moves forward.
As we enter the third year of the grant, we are looking for community residents to serve on the ReCAST Community Advisory Team from February 2019 – September 2019.
This application is due by Tuesday, April 9 to ReCAST Minneapolis.
Advisory Team Application
Next Advisory Team Meeting
The next advisory team meeting will be held on April 23, from 5:30-7 p.m. at North Regional Library (1315 Lowry Ave N).
Capacity Building Institute
Check out our new slate of trainers for the Capacity Building Institute: Voices for Effective Change, Abdi Ali, Healing Light Illuminated, People Serving People, and Melissa Olson. Not pictured: Simmons Consulting, Kente Circle, and Minnesota Peacebuilders Institute. Scheduled trainings are listed below with information on registration. Other dates will be announced soon!
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Warriors of Light
Healing Illuminated
POC Session: March 16 & May 4, Noon-5 p.m.
General Public Session: March 23 & May 11, Noon-5 p.m.
Roots Community Birthing Center
More information and registration
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Bridges to Manhood Conference 2019
Voices of Effective Change/Minneapolis Health Department
April 2, 8 a.m.-2:15 p.m.
Humphrey School of Public Affairs
More information & registration
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11th Annual Community Empowerment Through Black Men Healing Conference
Samuel Simmons Consulting
June 20 & 21, time to be announced
Metropolitan State University
More information & registration
Northside Oral History Project
Working with 4000 More Creative, we will capture the raw audio stories of 90 elders who have lived in the Penn/Plymouth area over the last several decades. 4000 More Creative has contracted with several community leaders and youth to help them with this story-making.
In this phase, we have partnered with community organizations to host and convene space for elders to tell their stories. As the dates for each of the partner sites events are confirmed, we will post them here:
- Oak Park, Pillsbury United Communities: Friday, March 13th, 5 p.m.-7 p.m. (1701 Oak Park Ave. N)
- Masjid An Nur: Saturday, March 30, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (1729 Lyndale Ave N)
- Liberty Community Church: Saturday, April 27, 9 a.m.-noon (3700 Bryant Ave N)
- Northside Residents Redevelopment Council: TBD
We currently have 42 stories and will be collecting the remaining 48 through the spring. Are you one of the 48? Find out how to participate here.
ReCAST Connect
The first round of funding for ReCAST Connect has come to a close. We funded $62,000 for 14 providers.
Providers who are awarded these funds must attend a 15-hour training given by MN Peacebuilding Leadership Institute to provide ReCAST Connect providers with concrete education and skills on the following:
- Trauma awareness and evidence based education
- Skill building to address healing and resiliency
- Relationship building and network development among providers
- Identifying and solutioning systemic barriers around accessing trauma healing resources
These providers will be mapped on the ReCAST Connect Provider Map.
Strategic Racial Equity Action Planning
The Strategic and Racial Equity Action Plan (SREAP) is a four-year plan that will embed racial equity principles into the goals, operations, programs, services, and policies of the City. With the elimination of racial disparities as the primary aim, the plan provides City leaders with a common focus and direction for prioritizing work and resources.
A targeted list of policy areas from Minneapolis 2040 have been identified as the focus for the first year of the plan. Community engagement sessions are currently underway to gather critical input from these communities most impacted by the burden of racial inequity. For more information, to ask a question, provide input, or sign up for updates on the SREAP, please visit the website at minneapolismn.gov/Coordinator/Equity/SREAP or email RaceEquity@minneapolismn.gov.
Stories From the Book of Harbor Light
Please join the Hennepin Theatre Trust for an one-night-only stage experience aimed at increasing awareness, challenging perceptions and dispelling myths. Stories for the Book of Harbor Light showcases the stories and voices of homelessness, created and performed by people who have experienced it. The production is a collaboration between zAmya Theater, The Salvation Army's Harbor Light Center and Hennepin Theatre Trust.
- Friday, March 15, 5:30 p.m. Reception, 6 p.m. Performance
900 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis
More information
Decolonizing Our Pain
As a healer, organizer, and Indigenous woman, Sierra Asamoa-Tutu believes that each of us has an inherent right to healing and wholeness in the world. For Kaleo Center’s next KaleoExpress, join Sierra for an interactive workshop that explores how our pain has been colonized in ways that rob all of us of our ability to cope with trauma, to heal well, and to be in authentic relationship with ourselves and one another.
- Wednesday, March 20, 9-10:45 a.m.
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
767 North Eustis Street, Suite 140, Saint Paul
More information & registration
Hope in the Struggle Launch Event with Josie R. Johnson
Join Josie R. Johnson, Carolyn Holbrook, and Arleta Little in conversation for a special launch event to celebrate the publication of Hope in the Struggle: A Memoir. The event will be held in the Cowles Auditorium of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs on Tuesday, April 9 at 6:00 p.m. and is co-sponsored by the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and the University of Minnesota Press.
Books will be available for purchase at the event from the University of Minnesota Bookstore. Registration required as space is limited.
More information and registration
About ReCAST Minneapolis
The Resilience in Communities After Stress & Trauma (ReCAST) Minneapolis Program is funded through a multi-year grant from the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). ReCAST Minneapolis is intended to assist high-risk youth and families, and promote resilience and equity in communities that have recently faced civil unrest through the implementation of evidence-based violence prevention and community youth engagement programs, as well as linkages to trauma-informed behavioral health services. SAMHSA created the ReCAST Program to support communities that have lived through demonstrations of mass protest in response to police-involved shootings of unarmed African-American males.
For more information, please email ReCASTMinneapolisInfo@minneapolismn.gov.
This update was developed [in part] under grant number 1H79SM063520-01 from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The views, policies, and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SAMHSA or HHS.
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